Featurestory
“You can ask me for anything you like, except time.”
— Napoleon Bonaparte, 1803
Meeting the Challenges of
Time Management
This is the second in the 8 part series of
the popular book, The 8 Characteristics
of the Awesome Adjuster,.reprinted with
permission by Claims Magazine. In it,
Carl Van briefly looks at the challenge of
Time Management. - Ken Bohn, Sr. Editor
The question is not, How do I return
50 phone calls a day? One of the most
important things to understand about
effective time management is that
there is no way to get all of our work
done.
“Which task is creating more
work?” If one of them is causing
more work for you, then it
becomes a priority to eliminate
that extra work.
When I teach our Real-Life Time
Management for the Claims Adjuster
class, invariably someone will ask the
question: “How can I possibly return
50 phone calls in a day?” My response
is normally, Because you asked me that
question, I now know what you have
been doing wrong.
an effort to complete more work, when
that is not the issue. The issue is, What
am I doing that’s causing more work?
And, What can I do to eliminate those
things that create more work so I can
prioritize the tasks that remain?”
of the
Here is just one possibility:
The Wendell Lambert Effect
Voice mail might be the worst
culprit to effective time management.
Too many of us allow voice mail to pick
up even when we are there to hear the
phone ring. It might be that you do not
want to be interrupted, or it’s a person
you don’t want to deal with right
now. Each justifiable.
Allowing the call to roll into voice
mail should be viewed from the time
management perspective. Ask yourself,
“Which task is creating more work?” If
one of them is causing more work
for you, then it becomes a priority to
eliminate that extra work.
In the figure below, there are two
columns. Let’s say you receive 100
phone calls in a week that you could
have answered, but instead you let roll
into voice mail.
by carl van
calls roll into voice mail.
Now you have to pick up 100 voice mail
messages and write each one down. Do
you have to return all of those calls?
The answer is usually: no.
Probably only about 90 percent
you will actually need to return, the
other 10 percent probably just want
information. You now have to make 90
outgoing calls, after listening to a 100
voice mail messages. Just the task of
writing down the message is already
extra work because it went into voice
mail, so you have created extra work.
Do you need to reach all of these 90
The question should be, What am I
doing in the process that’s making me
get 50 phone calls? If we can solve that
problem, we won’t have to worry about
how to efficiently return 50 phone calls.
In column one, let’s say that you
had the opportunity to answer all 100
of those phone calls. For the sake of
this example, let’s say you answered
every call when the phone rang.
What’s your total number of phone
calls? 100.
Most claims people try to improve
time management by to organizing in
Now look at column two. Instead
of answering them, you let all 100
14
The 8 Characteristics
Awesome Adjuster
Most claims people try to improve
time management by to organizing in an effort to complete more
work, when that is not the issue.
www.InsuranceInstitute.com
people on the phone? No, but for this
example we’ll say half. Now you’ll need
to talk with 45 people. Odds are you’ll
only reach half and leave messages for
the others. Then what? That’s right, they
call you back. Do all of them call you
back? No, only about 90 percent will
call back, because the other 10 percent
might be seeking information that you
could have just left in a message.
Let’s say about 40 actually call
you back. What happens when those
people call you back? They roll into
As an adjuster, you have
incredible power over things you
never thought possible that will
make your job much easier and
save you a lot of time.
voice mail, of course. Now what do
you have to do? You have to pick up 40
voice mail messages and make return
phone calls. Do you have to return all
of them? No, you only have to return
about 90 percent, so you’ll now make
about 36 outgoing phone calls.
Do you get all of those people? No,
of course not; you only get about half,
so you’ll talk to 18 and guess what you
do with the other 18? That’s right, you
leave a message for them. What do
those 18 people do when they get those
messages? That’s right, they call you
Voice mail might be the
worst culprit to effective
time management.
back. Not all of them, probably only
about 90 percent, so maybe 15 or 16
call you back.
What happens with those 15 phone
calls when they come in? Well you let
them roll into voice mail of course, and
it goes on and on and on.
www.InsuranceInstitute.com
15
100 Calls get answered
or
100 Calls go into voice mail
Total Calls – 100
100 – Pick up voice mail
90 – Return calls (leave 45 messages)
40 – Incoming calls into voice mail
36 – Return calls (leave 18 messages)
15 – Incoming calls into voice mail
13 – Return calls (leave 6 messages)
5 – Incoming calls into voice mail
4 – Return calls (leave 2 messages)
2 – Incoming calls into voice mail
1 – Return call (leave 1 message)
1 – Incoming call into voice mail
1 – Return call. All calls completed
________________________________
308 Total calls
The general rule of thumb is that for
every call that you could have answered
you are literally generating three-four
more phone calls. Thus, creating more
work to do!
Unfortunately, the price you paid
for not being interrupted has created
more work that will interrupt you
later.
Just don’t allow yourself to be interrupted. Answer the phone, deal with
it and get right back to what you were
doing without it feeling like you’ve been
interrupted. Then you could handle
both issues, and make the most effective
use of your time.
Can this be done easily? Well, it’s not
easy, but it’s not impossible. Just ask
Wendell.
The key is Wendell Lambert. That
name, loosely translated means, “Answer
Your Damn Phone.” Actually, Wendell
is a claims executive, who answers
his phone. I have never had to play
telephone tag with him. His rational: “I
don’t like wasting time, so I answer my
phone.”
Simple, but very effective.
If customers would just listen
My class always begins with this
exercise. Finish this sentence: “My job
would be much easier if the customers
would just _______.” The response I
almost always get is: LISTEN. There are
other answers that might save time and
help us blow off steam, but remember
we would not have jobs if all the
customers just went away.
For the sake of job security, we’ll
stick to the challenges we can actually
address and issues we can influence.
Can you affect whether customers
listen to you? The answer is yes.
K Do you have influence over whether
customers remember what you say?
Definitely.
K Can you change customers’ attitudes
so that they will be more cooperative? Absolutely.
K Can you reduce the number of
calls customers make to you? Unquestionably.
As an adjuster, you have incredible
power over things you never thought
possible that will make your job much
easier and save you a lot of time. All
you need is a little training by someone
who knows claims.
The 8 Characteristics of the
Awesome Claims Adjuster is intended
for already solid performers who
wish to become superior. The full-day
workshop was designed to heighten
the awareness of the characteristics
which are the trademark of truly
exceptional adjusters (Attitude,
Initiative, Customer Service,
Teamwork, Desire for Excellence, etc.).
Each student will come away from the
day with an action plan enhanced by
specific areas of concern.
seminar solutions
The seminar entitled 8 Characteristics of
the Awesome Claims Adjuster is designed to
heighten the awareness of the characteristics
that are the trademark of truly exceptional adjusters (Attitude, Initiative, Customer
Service, Teamwork, Desire for Excellence,
etc.). This is not a class to correct performance
problems. This is intended for already solid
performers who wish to become superior.
Visit www.InsuranceInstitute.com for more
information on this and other available courses.
16
www.InsuranceInstitute.com
The 8 Characteristics of
the Awesome Adjuster
The 8 Characteristics of the
Awesome Adjuster
Retention is the name of the game. Adjusters are the real reason
people stay or leave a carrier. This book will help any claims person
improve their company’s retention and that goes straight to the
bottom line. It will be terrific annual reading for all seasoned experienced claims people. Not because they aren’t doing a good job, but
because they can do a fabulous job, with less hassle, less confrontation, better production and a lot less stress!
—Lola Hogan, Claims Vice President
—Sequoia Insurance
This book takes the "claims hammer" out of an adjuster’s hand
before a relationship is damaged beyond repair suggesting more
empathetic tools to successfully navigate the tensest of situation.
Carl Van is coach and therapist combined and all claims people will
benefit from his "first, do no harm" philosophy.
—Sam Friedman, Editor-In-chief
—National Underwriter
by carl van
If you want to lower your loss adjustment expense and claims
inventory while at the same time increasing customer retention and
employee job satisfaction, have all claims representatives in your
organization read this book.
—Kevin Campbell, Regional Claims Executive
—Westfield Insurance
Finally, something written especially for the claims
adjuster that is not a technical manual.
It’s the first of its kind. A unique look into what makes
awesome adjusters truly awesome.
Please visit our website at www.InsuranceInstitute.com to place an order today!